The effort to split Fulton County in two is back again

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

Can you really compare today's world to that of 33 years ago? It's a whole different ballgame today...I moved to Atlanta in 1989 straight out of college with no job and a small savings to get me by and parents that would help me out from time to time and I quickly found a job and got my footing. It isn't so easy today...it can still be done, but you have to realize that the world is much more complex and difficult than it was in 1983.

It reminds me of this irritating conservative NC politician that was against assisting students with loans and bragged publicly about putting herself through Carolina and never getting any loans or scholarships - but that was in 1960! It was ludicrous to compare that time period to now.

In all of this discussion too many people seem to forget about the helping hand Fulton County gave Milton many years ago and saved it from bankruptcy...how soon fortunes change and we forget about those who rescued us.

Yes....I can.....it's called working your way up. It's really that simple. We can "justify" any expenditure if we try hard enough but, the harsh reality is that you only handicap those trying more than you help. Case in point, if those that are sitting around taking no job because the social benefits are so great that there is no incentive to do so, eventually those folks are simply without any skills and an awful lot of explaining to do when they got to the next meaningful job interview.


They become addicted to handouts and a general malaise sets in.....top that off with the fact that few, if any, will be paying any taxes so they simply become a burden. What many do not realize is that if you forced those that prefer to sit, back to work, the illegal alien problem begins to take care of itself. They are only here because those that will not take lesser jobs make them available for those that will...ergo the trainloads from Mexico, Central and South America enroute to those meaningless jobs no one wants here in America.


It's a triple whammy against our economy. You would be amazed at how "motivated" some folks will become if you cut the umbilical cord of freebies. Not working begins to deteriorate the mind and begins to divide us, not unite us. How can anyone have much self-worth if they sit around all day trying to beat the system? 50 million are on EBT now.....I would venture that 1/2 of those should not be....they simply fall back to it......


33 years ago a single-woman in Pennsylvania raising two kids making 57K a year DID live better than a single woman making 27K raising two kids...today, it's vice versa....yes, it IS different now....it's too damned easy! It's gotten so bad that the state of Pennsylvania even complained about how many people were soaking the system....and if I am not mistaken, Pennsylvania is a bit of a blue state and THEY complained!


No, you can't begin to compare the time 30-40 years ago to today. In those times, there was much less of a social fabric available to take advantage of.....now? It's a field day for the lazy. Time to kill it.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by John Williams

Why consolidate Clayton and South Fulton, specifically? Combining two areas with low to moderate incomes and the highest concentration of black residents while allowing a wealthy yet largely non-minority area to secede makes little sense. Except, of course, to people who feel that they should no longer have to "pay for the blacks" with their county-collected tax dollars.

Secondly, where does that leave the rest of Fulton County (which would include the CoA, mostly)? You suggesting that the CoA become an independent city? That would be interesting.

You miss the point. Every time I hear or see some *** defend the "new found wealth" of Clayton and/or South Fulton, I laugh. If they were doing so well, why would they NEED anyone else's money????


As to your last point, no, they would not have to "pay for blacks, whites, yellows, browns, or anyone else for that matter" that asked for it???? I'm not one of the wealthy up there. I get by. But, there is quite a bit of wealth and the last thing I want to see is some clown ask/demand for more of those that "already gave at the office".


You do realize that those "evil" rich people create quite a bit of investment and jobs for the rest of us working stiffs, don't you? Besides, I believe in the equality of all. Not the proverbial Democrat "tax the rich because they have more and can afford it"...that's about the most lame excuse and justification I've ever heard....that and "pay their fair share"....fair? to whom???? Certainly not the thoracic surgeon living up there that spent the better part of 12-14 years in advanced schooling to get there I can assure you....


It's not like they get their own roads, police, fire, and super highways...they share the same infrastructure as the rest of us and pay quite a bit more than you and I will probably pay in a lifetime over a mere 5 years....no....perhaps, we should leave them alone and not steal their money for change....


Reminds me of the folks getting upset over Mitt Romney....the guy paid and effective rate of about 14% of his gross when all was said and done....and that totaled about 2 million bucks....and people berated him! When was the last time the booing audience paid 2 million bucks in taxes?????????????????????


Percentages are MEANINGLESS when a guy/gal starts forking over 250-500K in taxes in my humble opinion...it's not like they are getting special treatment other than the fisting they are enduring in the form of excessive taxes from the governing bodies.....those folks pay for at least 10-20 civil servants a year and don't get so much as a thank you.


What they do get is "you need to pay more"....really? If I were one of those folks, I would be plowing it offshore too if I could. No wonder Hillary wants to close those loopholes....she wants to tap into any dime they make. It's sickening to see some guy/gal paying that kind of load when there are thousands of others who won't lift a finger except to vote for more from these folks. Talk about hypocrites.


If anything, let's give them a tax break for every new job they create???? In then end, we would all benefit more. You can hate, despise, detest anyone you wish but, just because they succeeded in life we should hate them and start taking as much as we can from them?


I don't think so. If they have made it, good for them. If I want to make it, I simply have to work harder and make the most of the few skills I have, acquire more skills, or gain a sharper and more keen business understanding as to how to succeed....I don't see sacking those that made it as an answer to my problems.....

[Saintmarks]

I can't help but think that Fulton taking on Milton and Campbell was not done with purely altruistic intentions alone. Surely Fulton got something out of the deal. If nothing else a great expanse in territory. Fulton before these mergers was one of the smallest counties in land area in the state. Perhaps leaders in the area eyed the potential in the future as Atlanta grew, not just what it offered at the time. There were certainly numerous counties in the state that were just as poor and destitute as Milton was in the depression era. They just didn't have the good fortune of being adjacent to the wealthiest, most populated county.

If it were all a burden on Fulton, I don't think they would have had open arms. Neither here nor there in the current argument to resurrect Milton County, just a point that needs to be considered. Another point is there wasn't the us vs. them attitude between city and county as there is today. Fulton County wasn't doing the municipal services business to burgeoning suburbs. It was back in the era when counties were counties and cities were cities, meaning there wasn't the division and competitive attitudes between city and county you see today.

But I do tend to go on on this subject, don't I?

[bUU]

And even if there were people alive today who knew what the motivations were back then, there would be no way to verify that their claims in that regard would be reflections of the reality versus manifestations of their own biases with regard to this issue.

[earthlyfather]

Fair enough. Funny, our differing opinions on this. You mention the change as social. My lenses see economic and political change. Occurring over ~ three generations of economic and political leadership. That is my and possibly yours as well, grandfather's (he in the late 60s) father's generation. In simpler terms, our Great Grandparent's generation.

Originally Posted by arjay57

It's not a cheap shot and I'm not questioning anybody's bona fides.

I like your posts, too, earthlyfather, but I simply have a different view on this issue. We may differ, but in my opinion conservatism calls for taking the long range perspective on social change, and that includes taking into account what went on before.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

Fair enough. Funny, our differing opinions on this. You mention the change as social. My lenses see economic and political change. Occurring over ~ three generations of economic and political leadership. That is my and possibly yours as well, grandfather's (he in the late 60s) father's generation. In simpler terms, our Great Grandparent's generation.

Good point. I meant to say "societal change" rather than "social change."